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Xander Bogaerts
Xander Jan Bogaerts (born October 1, 1992) is an Aruban professional baseball shortstop for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Bogaerts is the fifth player from Aruba to reach the major leagues. Career Bogaerts signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in August 2009 by their European Scouting Coordinator Mike Lord. He made his professional debut in 2010 with the Dominican Summer League (DSL) Red Sox, where he batted .314 with a .396 on-base percentage (OBP) and .423 slugging percentage (SLG). He led the DSL Red Sox in batting average, hits (75), home runs (3), runs batted in (RBI) (42), total bases (101), slugging and on-base plus slugging (OPS). He was fifth in the DSL in RBI and tenth in total bases. He had a .929 fielding percentage. The next year, at age 18, he played in a full-season league for the Greenville Drive of the Class A South Atlantic League, with a .260 batting average, .324 OBP and .509 SLG, fielding .924 and hitting 16 home runs in 72 games. He then joined the Dutch national team for the 2011 Baseball World Cup, winning the gold medal. During the 2012 season he started out in Class-A and ended up playing with the Portland Sea Dogs of the Class AA Eastern League. He was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game. He played for the Netherlands national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Heading into the 2013 season he was ranked the 5th overall prospect by ESPN's Keith Law, who described him as "Still just 20 years old, Bogaerts has been playing solid shortstop for Portland with a solid walk rate but isn't yet generating the power expected from his explosive swing.""Bogaerts, Cecchini in Law's Top 25", ESPN (ESPNBoston.com), May, 28, 2013 Entering 2013, Bogaerts ranked 20th in the MLB.com Top 100 Prospects list, and 8th in the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list. He started the season with Portland and was promoted to the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple-A International League in mid-June. The Red Sox promoted Bogaerts to the major leagues on August 19. Bogaerts made his MLB debut on August 20 against the San Francisco Giants. He got his first major league hit five days later against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On September 7, Bogaerts hit his first MLB home run against New York Yankees pitcher Jim Miller."Profile: Xander Bogaerts", ESPN At the end of the 2013 Minor League season, Bogaerts gained ''USA Today'' Minor League Player of the Year honors and was named to the 2013 Baseball America Minor League All-Star Team. Personal Bogaerts has a twin brother, Jair. Jair also signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent. He was sent to the Chicago Cubs prior to the 2012 season to complete the compensation regarding Theo Epstein. References http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20130821/xander-bogaerts-red-sox-phenoms/ External links Category:1992 births Category:Living people Category:Dutch players Category:Aruban players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Greenville Drive players Category:Salem Red Sox players Category:Portland Sea Dogs players Category:Pawtucket Red Sox players Category:2013 World Baseball Classic players Category:People from Oranjestad, Aruba Category:All-Star Futures Game players Category:Major League Baseball players from Aruba Category:Players Category:Shortstops Category:Third Basemen